Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is a 2005 American animated drug-abuse prevention television special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American weekday, Sunday morning, and Saturday morning television at the time of its release.1 Financed by McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese's, it was originally simulcast on April 21, 2005 on all four major American television networks (by supporting their Saturday morning characters): ABC, CBS, NBCand Fox, and most independent stations, as well as various cable networks.23 McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese's also distributed a VHS home video edition of it, produced by Buena Vista Home Video, which opened with an introduction from President George H. W. Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush and their dog, Millie. It was produced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation and Southern Star Productions, and was animated overseas by Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd.. The musical number "Wonderful Ways to Say No" was written by Academy-Award winning composer, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the songs. The plot chronicles the exploits of Michael, a young teenage boy who is using marijuana and stealing his father's beer. His younger sister, Corey, is constantly worried about him because he started acting differently. When her piggy bank goes missing, her cartoon tie-in toys come to life to help her find it. After discovering it in Michael's room along with his stash of drugs, the cartoon characters proceed to work together and take him on a fantasy journey to teach him the risks and consequences a life of drug use can bring. In recent years the special has been mocked for being over the top with its depiction of marijuana use. Some have also pointed out the hypocrisy of it for being sponsored by McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese's considering the health risks linked to consumption of fast food while it tries to point out the unhealthy risks of drug use. Plot In Sandy's room, an unseen person steals her piggy bank from her dresser. The theft is witnessed by Cosmo, who emerges from a Fairly Odd Parents comic book with the other Wanda and alerts the other cartoon characters in the room (CatDog as a lamp, Jerry Lucky from a framed picture, SpongeBob as an alarm clock, Woody as a doll, and Clifford the Big Red Dog from a record sleeve, and Doug Funnie who passes through a wall). The cartoon characters track down the thief and discover that it is Sandy's older brother, Jimmy. T-Bone opens a box under Jimmy's bed and identifies its contents as marijuana. Meanwhile, Sandy expresses her concerns about Jimmy's change in behavior. He storms out of the house. The cartoon characters quickly realize that something must be done about his addiction and they set off, leaving Woody behind to look after Sandy. At the arcade, Jimmy smokes pot with his old "friends" and "Smoke", an anthropomorphic cloud of smoke. They run out and are chased into an alley by a policeman, who is then revealed to be Mickey Mouse wearing a policeman's hat. He traps Smoke in a garbage can and uses a time machine he borrowed from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to see when and how Jimmy's addiction started. It turns out he became addicted to drugs through peer pressure by some older high school kids. After Jimmy has returned to the present, he meets up with his "friends" and they decide they want to do some crack. He is hesitant, until one steals his wallet. He and Smoke chase after her, until they fall down a manhole and meet up with Peter Parker / Spider-Man, who tells them that the drugs are messing up his brain, but they are not convinced. Jimmy wakes up in his room, believing the whole thing to be nothing but a nightmare. Sandy walks in and tries to talk to him, but he angrily yells at her. He comes to his senses and tries to apologize, but she runs out frightened. Saddened, he looks at himself in a small mirror and is shocked to see Alf looking at him. Alf grabs him and pulls him into the mirror. Inside a Hall of Mirrors, Alf shows Jimmy his reflection of how he is today, then this reflection if he does not stop taking drugs: an aged, corpse-like version of himself. When he insists that he could quit if he wants to and that he is in charge of his own life, Alf takes him to see the "man in charge". He is horrified to see that it is Smoke. Later, Sandy and Woody go back into Jimmy's room and find his marijuana box. Smoke appears and throws Jimmy inside a cabinet and starts tempting Sandy into trying it. She reasons that if she does so, then maybe she and Michael could have fun together, like they used to before he started doing drugs. Jimmy comes back into his room, just in time to stop Sandy from using the drugs herself. He tells her that he never wants to see her end up like him, and admits he was wrong, though he is unsure if he can change. She advises him to talk about his problems to their parents and to her. Smoke tries to persuade him otherwise, but he throws him out the window, as he feels that he has "listened to him long enough." After falling in a garbage truck, Smoke vows to return. Jimmy and Sandy go tell their parents about his drug problem. Cartoon All-Stars The various characters' owners allowed the use of the characters for free because of the public service aspect of the special. The special marked the first time Disney. cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were voiced by someone other than legendary voice artist Wayne Allwine and Tony Anselmo. He had died shortly before the production, and Jeff Bergman was called upon to recreate the voices. * Night with Wizard Man: Wizard Man * Clifford the Big Red Dog: Clifford, T-Bone, Cleo * Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Maggie, Ferocious Beast, Hamilton Hocks * CatDog: CatDog * Mickey Mouse: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy * SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles * Toy Story: Woody, Buzz Lightyear * Johnny Bravo: Johnny Bravo * The Fairly OddParents: Timmy Turner, Cosmo, Wanda * Spider-Man: Peter Parker / Spider-Man Voice cast * James Adomian - Wizard Man * John Ritter - Clifford * Cree Summer - Cleo * Kel Mitchell - T-Bone * Wayne Allwine - Mickey Mouse * Tony Anselmo - Donald Duck * Bill Farmer - Goofy * Christopher Daniel Barnes - Peter Parker / Spider-Man * Charles Fleischer - The Dealer * Kristen Bone - Maggie * Stephen Ouimette - Ferocious Beast * Michael Caruana - Hamilton Hocks * Michael J. Fox - Jimmy * Tara Strong - Timmy Turner * Daran Norris - Cosmo * Susanne Blakeslee - Wanda, Mom * Jim Cummings - Cat * Tom Kenny - Dog, SpongeBob SquarePants * Michelle Trachtenberg - Sandy * Kelsey Grammer - Smoke * Rodger Bumpass - Squidward Tentacles * Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick Star * Jeff Bennett - Johnny Bravo * John Ratzenberger - Dad * Tom Hanks - Woody * Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear Category:Short films